Depilator



H. GERN March 8', 1927;A

SBACK DEPXLATOR Filed Avril 1, 1926 INVENTOR W/yfrade/ B WW1 ATTORNEY 10 softened b and removal operation.

Patented l8., y1927. i

'l UNITI-:DA STATES HUGO GEBNSBACK, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.

DEPILATOR.

lApplication led April 1, 1926. Serial No. 98,958.

The objects of this invention are to provide a simple, inexpensive and effective de vice for removing superliuous hair, whlch will be of a safe, sanitary nature, easy to a ply and use and entirely practical and desirable for the purposes intended.

One of the most successful methods of removing superuous hair heretofore employed has been to apply a layer of waxy material, heat, to the skin and to then strip off tliis material after the same has hardened suiiiciently for the hairs to become ixedly embedded therein. This method at best, however, is rather messy because of the need for handlingand spreading the sticky soft material, uncertain because of the possibility of using too' much or too little of the material or spreading it too thick or too thin and diiicult of removal because the hardened layer pares in strips and must be removed fragment by fragment, a rather painful process.

The present invention utilizes the best features of the process mentioned'but avoids the numerous objections thereto by a novel 0 securing to lsaid fabric of a patch of the hair 'entrappin material projecting lsufjiciently to ena le the hair becoming em- *bedded therein.

Various other novel features' and the details of the invention will appear more fully as the specification proceeds.

The drawing accompanying and forming part of this specification illustrates one simple practical embodiment of the inven 40 tion, but it. should be understood that the structure ma vary within the broad scope of the appende claims without departure from the spirit and true scope ofthe invention.

re 1 is a diagrammatic representation showlngv a simple embodiment .of the de- Figu pilator as applied to the forearm. Figure 2 is a cross lsectional vewfof the' depilator enlarged on a somewhat exaggerated scale to'illustrate the hairentrapping Figure 3 is a plan view of the depilator before'use. j f

The size, shape land, extent of the depilator is determined by amountingor backing strip 5 of cotton, musln, gauze or other suitable fabric, preferably of a fairly ,open mesh. As

indicated in Figure 3, this strip maybe of various widths and it may be of various lengths and shaped on straight lines, curves or angles, with a view to best conforming to The material which is used to grip or entrap the hairs is indicated in the rm of fairly thick layers 6 interlocked with the fabric and projecting fromvboth faces of the Same. This double faced structure is advantageous because of the fact that both sides of the depilator may be used, but if desired, only one projecting layer mayi be employed and further if founddesirable, in some cases a cover strip may be applied over the back of the device to present a clear outside or back surface.

The embedding material may be applied to the supporting strip in various Ways, such as by dipping the strip in hot wax, the important feature being to insure that it penetrates the fabric sufficiently to become firmly .interlocked with and form a part of the same.

To facilitate the handling of the device, the ends of the strip .may be left exposed, as indicated at 7 to provide flexible tabs or finger-holds.

The composition of the extracting material may vary. A preparation of bees wax and sea ing wax has been used` successively, the proportion of the latter exceeding the former enough to aEord a mixture which will become suiliciently hard to grip and retain the protruding hair.

Normally the depilator is soft enough to be handled as a strip of cardboard and 'may beY encased in a waxed paper envelope to keep the same clean and sanitary. To prewpare it for use, it issimply necessary to soften the wax either by heatingor the use of a solvent such as alcohol or the like. One method is to quickly diprthe strip in boil# ing or very hot Water unt-i1 the wax'softens, this being indicated by the 'increasing flexibilit of the strip. The, device is then aplie by placing it directly over the part rom which superliuous hair isto be extracted, the tabs at the ends of the strip serving as convenient handholds ,in this operation and enabling the device to be drawn taut over the skin as indicated in Figure 1. In this way the same even pressure may be applied throughout the layer of extracting material, insuring continuous uniform action of the same. Nhen the material hardens suliiciently to entrap the protruding hairs, the strip is detached in a single continuous operation.

The invention, it will be seen, provides what in effect is a special depilatory bandage which may be handled and used much after the manner otl an ordinary bandage, including methods of packing to keep the same in neat, sanita usable condition. Instead ozt' being packe flat, these bandages may be kept rolled up and only unrolled when they are softened preparatory to using.

When a solvent is used for softening the material, the usual method is to dip the strip in alcohol or other suitable solvent for a few seconds or until the material is sufficiently softened. The strip is then applied to the skin in the form of a bandage and left there long enough for the alcohol to become absorbed or evaporated and the Wax to become hardened again, this time with the hairs entrapped therein. In this method, the bandage may remain in place for an hour or so, which is an advantage in that it has the cll'ect of softening the skin about the roots of the hairs, facilitating the rcmoval of the hairs to that extent.

What is claimed is:

A depilator for removing the hair from either large or small areas o1 the skin, coniprising a bandage in the forni of a at strip of fabric of appreciable length and layers of softenable self-hardening hair extracting material coveringr both faces ot said fabric and penetrating the same so that said layers are interlocked and secured together through the fabric, whereby neither can pull loose from the fabric in the act oi removing the hairs, said layers being of sniiicient depth to receive and entrap hairs projecting from the skin over which the bandage is applied, the ends of the fabric strip being exposed to serve as finger-holds and the balance of the strip between said finger-holds being cov ered by the material as described.

ln witness whereof, I have hereunto setl my hand this 22nd day of March, 1926.

HUGO GER-NSBACK. 

